Mel D Cole is a New York–based self-taught photographer, is one of hip hop’s most accomplished and celebrated photographers, with a career spanning almost 20 years. He released his first book, Great: Photographs of Hip Hop, in February 2020.
His career pivoted in April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, when Cole started driving around New York City documenting the streets. When George Floyd was murdered, Cole dedicated the rest of 2020 and beyond to photographing the Black Lives Matter protests that swept the country. In addition to New York City, Cole traveled to cover protests in Washington, DC, Houston, Minneapolis, Richmond, Virginia and more.
The body of work he produced from the summer of 2020 and beyond is a powerful outpouring of the hurt, outrage and courage of people compelled to take action following Floyd’s and others brutal murders. Cole seeks to create what he calls “a collective memory” that continues the legacy of the civil rights movement. This work was collected in a book called “American Protest 2020-2021”.
Mel D. Cole on Instagram
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